Does tuner head material, affect tone?!

[Erlend_G]

Sorry- this isn't a joke question.

I'm asking; since I was watching a YouTube video of Marius Muller (norwegian guitarist), playing a custom guitar. That used bass guitar tuners!

- I guess he'd gotten it built that way, for some reason.


I very much want to find some rosewood/ebony tuner heads for my Epiphone Wildkat; mostly because of asthetics. And maybe save a tiny bit of weight..
.but will this affect tone or sustain in any way?

Thanks,
-E

 

[Erlend_G]

...Is "tuner head" the correct term? I mean, the key/"ear" you turn to tune .

 

[GuitarStv]

Adding weight to the headstock will impact the way that the neck vibrates and could have some slight tonal difference.

 

[Wattage]

This just sounds like a Forum Deathmatch waiting to happen lol

I would say it would likely have some small impact but I wouldn't obsess over it too much

 

[Securb]

No

 

[PFDarkside]

If I’m understanding correctly, a larger tuner key will allow more precise tuning by allowing smaller adjustments.

 

[idsnowdog]

The nut material and fretboard material plays a bigger role.

 

[nexion218]

Adding weight to the headstock will impact the way that the neck vibrates and could have some slight tonal difference.

That's why Fender had those Fat Fingers or whatever they called those brass clips intended to be put on the headstock I believe.

But I wouldn't obsess about it either.

 

[GuitarStv]

That's why Fender had those Fat Fingers or whatever they called those brass clips intended to be put on the headstock I believe.

But I wouldn't obsess about it either.

I feel like I can hear a slight difference in tone if I put both a clip on tuner and a capo on the headstock of my guitar . . . but it's pretty darned slight.

 

[Benjy_26]

I have a fatfinger on my Carvin. It makes a difference.

 

[ErikH]

It's all in the strap buttons. Nickel strap buttons are where it's at!

 

[Mincer]

Lightweight tuners do indeed sound different than high mass tuners. I don't know if just swapping out the buttons will have enough weight difference that you could certainly hear, though. It is cheap enough to try, though.

 

[solspirit]

It's all in the strap buttons. Nickel strap buttons are where it's at!

This belongs in "How different straps affect my tone"

 

[JB_From_Hell]

A few Strats ago, I replaced the stock late 80's MIA tuners with locking tuners of some type. I'd had the guitar for awhile and knew it inside and out. Something seemed off about it, and on a whim I put the old tuners back on, which fixed the issue. I can't say more or less sustain, or bass, or mids, or whatever, just that there was a perceivable difference I did not like.

 

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

More weight out on the extremities can add a minor amount of sustain.

It *could change tone in the absolute slightest bit.... If at all. It would most certainly be virtually impossible to measure.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[Securb]

Lightweight tuners do indeed sound different than high mass tuners. I don't know if just swapping out the buttons will have enough weight difference that you could certainly hear, though. It is cheap enough to try, though.

I agree 100%, different tuners will definitely have a different tone. If you can hear a change after changing the tuning buttons you have the ears of a bat.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Yes, the operative word being different, whether it's better is subjective. Changing just the buttons, I don't know, maybe not so much, if at all, since they're not actually coupled to the wood, unless they're really heavy!

From personal experience: last year I dumped the sh!tty plate tuners on a beater I have for some nicer ones and it made a substantial difference to the resonance/sustain, apart from the improved tuning. I had to enlarge the holes a little for the new ones, and made it so the fit between the bushing and wood was pretty snug. Transformed the guitar, tbh. Before, it was always kinda lacking overall.

Weight + coupling will be the main factors affecting string energy transfer. Mr PRS himself once talked about preferring as light a tuner as possible, I recall from reading an interview years ago. Gotoh also offers a line with carbon fibre keys and plates to reduce weight, and the so-called 'stealth' keys (now discontinued), which were about 11g per piece. Of course, with those, you couldn't use too heavy strings.

Lighter tuners on a neck heavy guitar might also be beneficial.

 

[Securb]

I have been thinking about this more and more. I did a dependency matrix on the guitar years ago. Once a note is fretted the string has no dependency on the tuner. The mass of the guitar neck has a ton of bearing on the guitar. Once a note is fretted the tuner is essentially taken out of the equation.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/forum/the-sound-room-off-topic/302439-working-on-a-weird-project

 

[GuitarStv]

I don't think I follow your logic. The tuner adds weight to the guitar neck, which you say has an impact on the guitar . . . but you also say that the tuner doesn't matter for a fretted note. These appear to be contradictory statements.

 

[Securb]

I don't think I follow your logic. The tuner adds weight to the guitar neck, which you say has an impact on the guitar . . . but you also say that the tuner doesn't matter for a fretted note. These appear to be contradictory statements.

I am not saying it doesn't matter but its impact once the note is fretted is minimalized greatly. Once the note is fretted the string is no longer in contact with the tuner or the nut. The greatest impact the nut or the tuners have on the tone is when open notes are played.